Recent content by Chilari

According to a message in Camp Mail from organisers, we can now have 20 people per cabin. At the moment we're on 7 so we've got loads of space.

I'm with slip.knox in that the world only needs to be as big as the story. That doesn't mean the landmass isn't bigger, or that you can't have an idea of what country A trades with country B if it is relevant, sure, but it does mean you don't need everything mapped out and measured. Consistent...

Camp NaNoWriMo has a different structure to November NaNo. It's based on having a small group of fellow writers as a support system, like a writing group, with whom to interact in the cabin system, rather than a vast great forum where tens of thousands of people are interacting across numerous...

I perhaps don't read as much poetry as those who have commented before me, and I certainly don't write as much. But I have found that, on the one hand, the poems I wrote from the heart were invariably awful and that those of which I am most proud were written with deliberation and structure. In...

Woo, I'd hoped some of my Mythic friends might be doing Camp this April. I'm in! 30,000 goal, fantasy story set on a volcanic island following a major eruption event during which colony officials fled leaving behind convicts, servants, guards and those born on the island who couldn't afford to...

Interesting timing, as I was thinking about this myself yesterday. I can see the value in doing it to learn techniques for pacing, creating mood, writing description and so on - the technical means of achieving storytelling goals. But I would expect it to have diminishing returns after a certain...

On one level, what I expect from a fantasy story is often what I expect from a story of any genre: the opportunity to become engrossed in someone else's life for a while. As long as a story is engaging, everything else is moot. Having said that, the genres I pick - fantasy for the main part, as...

Yes, I'll be doing it. I'm torn between being impatient for it to start so I can start the story, and being happy we've still got another month because I've got a lot of worldbuilding and character development I want to do first. (I'm pantsing the plot, and have only planned out the general...

I don't think anyone is dismissing the influence of European history on the fantasy genre, just saying it doesn't have to be the default setting. There are hundreds of cultures we can draw from, and yes, the cultures we are more familiar with from our own history lessons at school are likely to...

It is also used to treat anxiety. Also for the prevention of migraines, and to treat involuntary muscle movements, according to the information leaflet that came in my packet.

I have moved this thread to the Publishing section of the forum as that is more appropriate for this topic.

I apologise for going off on a tangent here, but you might want to consider reading some curse tablets from the Roman world. They are quite colourful. They are literal curses - intended to call down the retribution of the gods on their targets rather than as simple swearing - but they might...

I think intent is important. Your intent wasn't tokenism, and your characters are gay because that's how the story evolved. Your intent will have affected the way you wrote, and I think readers will be able to tell. You won't be able to control how certain readers interpret it - and yes, there...

Sorry to hear you're having trouble. Anxiety is a serious problem. It sounds like you're taking steps to combat it by seeing a therapist, but there are other things that might help too. One is chemical aids - medicines like propanalol (which I take) can make a significant difference and make it...

Easter didn't turn out quite how I'd hoped, but we managed to salvage something. Granny went into hospital on Thursday, urgent stuff (but not too serious - I've spoken to her today and she's well, eager to get home), but that meant Mum and Dad hurried down to France, taking the overnight ferry...